It's another year of the Freshman Scorecard! If you weren't visiting this blog last season, this is a once-a-month update where I rank the new shows by network in order of what I perceive to be the best to worst chance for survival. If interested, check out the October scorecard from last year.
ABC
Suburgatory - It has only had one episode so it might seem presumptuous to put it at the top of what has been a pretty solid freshman class for ABC so far. But consider the fact that it easily built on the audience for lead-in The Middle. Audiences will gladly stay from The Middle to Modern Family if ABC gives them something they want and last year's Better With You was not that show. Suburgatory is and should be a new comedy success for ABC.
Pan Am - Sunday's new period drama got off to a great start, building from its Desperate Housewives lead-in. The show has garnered good buzz and reaction and could actually find an audience on Sunday night. This is one of those shows that ABC should be patient with and give time to grow and develop. And I think they will. It might have found an audience that didn't have anything else to watch in that hour.
Revenge - This fall has been so much better to ABC than last fall so far considering the fact that there are three new shows that all got off to promising starts (with some yet to debut). Revenge may have finally cured ABC's problems in the Wednesday 10pm slot, but I'm not sure yet it can have long term success. The creator promised all the pilot answers by episode 13 and I think audiences will stick around long enough for that. But will they stay after that? That's why I put this show below Pan Am and Suburgatory.
Charlie's Angels - So far this is the only new ABC show to look like its in real trouble (though Man Up hasn't premiered yet). It doesn't seem to be around for the long haul with a steep drop to a 1.5 demo in its second episode. ABC generally does well in the demo and this is a glaring weak spot. I think they'll let it ride through October but if this trend continues, don't expect to see it much if at all on the November schedule.
CBS
2 Broke Girls - This is the fall of the Comedy and CBS made a splash with the series premiere of 2 Broke Girls. The second episode managed to hold up very well in its regular timeslot, building on the How I Met Your Mother lead-in. CBS seems to have struck gold here and found a suitable 8:30pm show for its Monday lineup. CBS is usually very slow with full season/renewal announcements but when they have them, this show will likely be the first.
Unforgettable - Unforgettable is being touted as the top new drama by CBS based on its total viewer numbers. So far, it seems like a better fit with the NCIS shows than The Good Wife was but we'll see in the long run. Still, CBS has a few issues to work through with other new dramas so this one should just coast along and do good enough. At worst, it will probably do about the same as The Good Wife, which wasn't that bad.
Person of Interest - CBS made a big move by sending longtime Thursday tentpole show CSI to Wednesdays at 10pm. They hoped they could fill that role with a hipper, younger new crime drama. While Person of Interest might still be that show, it's off to a disappointing start, finishing fourth in the demo two weeks in a row. This can't be what CBS was hoping from their highest testing drama pilot in years but they will likely give it considerable time to find an audience.
A Gifted Man - CBS's new Friday show got off to a good start in total viewer numbers but the demo was a very low 1.4. Still, what could really pull better numbers in a very difficult timeslot? They went through three shows with no luck last year. A Gifted Man has been getting solid reviews so unless it falls off the cliff in the demo, I think they'll be patient with it.
How to Be a Gentleman - CBS's new Thursday comedy has been at the bottom of the totem pole in terms of reviews and buzz and then it debuted to very poor numbers on Thursday night. With former occupant Rules of Engagement slated for Saturdays, don't be surprised if CBS has a quick hook for this show, especially if it drops big in its second week. They really don't need to keep it around and they probably won't. It has bomb written all over it.
NBC
Up All Night - NBC has had a miserable fall, especially with their new shows but Up All Night is the one show that has shown some potential. It has aired three episodes and has only dropped to a 2.1 demo, which in a difficult timeslot and by NBC's standards, is not half bad. It seems to be a self starter and many are questioning why it's not airing behind The Office, where it might be able to do even better, particularly in the demo. Still, given the state of NBC's lineup, expect this show to pick up a full season order in the near future.
Whitney - The comedy that NBC did choose to air after The Office had one of the worst week-to-week drops of any new show which indicates that people did not like what they saw. It doesn't seem like it fits in NBC's Thursday night lineup (maybe it would have 15 years ago). While it will be given a chance because, after all, it is the best performing new show on NBC with a 2.5 demo this past week, it doesn't seem like this show will be around for the long haul.
Prime Suspect - NBC had high hopes for its cop drama remake but the numbers have been very weak so far leaving NBC with more problems in ER's former timeslot. Prime Suspect is skewing very old and dropped to a low 1.5 demo this week. NBC still seems somewhat high on this show right now and if they're giving the two shows below a chance, they will certainly give this one a chance. But for NBC now, it must be all about midseason.
The Playboy Club - NBC said today that they won't cancel The Playboy Club or Free Agents in the next week and they will give them a chance to find an audience. But it's not likely to happen to this Monday drama that premiered low and sunk much further in Week 2. The period drama has no buzz at this point and I don't think airing it another month would help that but Bob Greenblatt seems to think differently. Still, whether its next week or next month, this show is not sticking around.
Free Agents - And if The Playboy Club is dead, then Free Agents is more than dead. With Up All Night being a self starter and holding down a 2.1 demo on Wednesday, Free Agents sunk to a pathetic 1.0. It doesn't have critical buzz and can't even come close to the demo numbers that the ratings-challenged Thursday comedies can get. Even if Greenblatt stays true to his word and doesn't cancel it right away, it's only a matter of time.
FOX
New Girl - The first show to pick up a full season order was very deserving after two stellar outings in the ratings. Despite the hype for The X-Factor and Terra Nova, it is New Girl that has been FOX's early hit. The show has been building on lead-in Glee by a large margin. See why this is the year of the comedy? A new comedy is at the top of each network's list on this Freshman Scorecard. Of course it's still early, but FOX may have found a rarity for them - a hit live action comedy.
The X-Factor - The X-Factor was supposed to be the sure thing this fall and while it is performing well, it is not the massive hit everyone expected. Still, it has been a big upgrade on Wednesdays and Thursdays for FOX versus last fall so expect it to stick around. But it's more like the new America's Got Talent, not the new American Idol. It seems like audiences are tiring a bit of the reality competitions this season.
Terra Nova - FOX's other new heavily hyped show got off to a ho-hum start on Monday night. The big budgeted drama will only do 13 episodes this year even if it's a hit but it's starting to look like it might only have 13 episodes. With its massive budget, it will have to avoid big drops to be a financially viable option. Since it didn't explode out of the gate, it might be in trouble when the second week drop occurs.
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